Research

As Brock University’s flagship multidisciplinary research institute, CCOVI consistently demonstrates the power of partnership between industry and academia to achieve common objectives.

As the institute evolves, CCOVI continues to expand its research focus beyond the disciplines of oenology and viticulture to all aspects of the grape and wine value-chain. CCOVI’s research initiatives are focused on the priorities that have been identified by the industry itself, responding to industry challenges by developing innovative solutions, identifying new growth opportunities and accelerating the commercialization of globally competitive products and services.

In partnership with two commercial grape growers, CCOVI planted the second half of the certified grapevines in St. Catharines and Niagara-onthe-Lake as part of an ongoing clone and rootstock evaluation program this year. Plant performance outputs from this research trial will inform the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network (CGCN) of the grapevine combinations that should enter its domestic clean plant program. As the CGCN’s national testing provider, the Institute is providing nurseries with a head-start in providing domestically certified clean plant material to Canadian growers.

The creation of the new Validating, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI) at Brock University drew key lessons from the CCOVI model on serving the needs of the broader agriculture, bioproducts and chemical manufacturing industries in the area. The $5 million investment from FedDev Ontario, coupled with Brock’s investment, will fund the development of a new facility linked to CCOVI, expected to open in 2021. It will draw on the expertise within CCOVI and the scientific community at Brock to provide testing, training and analytical tools to increase the national competitiveness of the targeted sectors. The VPMI, along with CCOVI, will play an important role in supporting further economic growth in Niagara. In partnership with industry, CCOVI researchers are also exploring quality improvements and consumer preferences in Vidal and Marquette wines, to assist the industry in gaining domestic wine market share over foreign imports in these wine categories. Researchers are also investigating ways to further improve domestic sparkling wine production and marketing of these wines.

Viticulture-focused research projects include detection and mitigation methods for invasive species such as the Spotted Wing Drosophila and Multi-coloured Asian lady beetle, evaluating a weather-based model for timing fungicide treatments and continuing with grapevine cold hardiness and sustainability initiatives linked to clone/rootstock trials using the joint CCOVI-industry research vineyards.

CCOVI’s research into the development of next-generation sequencing and its application in the agriculture industry allowed the institute to translate its existing expertise in grapevine virus detection to new applications in other agricultural fields. Brock University became one of the first universities in Canada to receive a cannabis-related research and development license from Health Canada, allowing CCOVI to utilize disease diagnostics to detect and characterize virus and virus-like agents infecting Cannabis.

CCOVI’s researchers will also soon be embarking on consumer behaviour research in Brock University’s augmented reality, virtual reality and sensory reality consumer lab, known as the R3CL, the first of its kind in the world.

CCOVI’s research continues to take an innovative approach to research projects that will help improve the quality, sustainability and growth of the Canadian grape and wine industry. The recruitment and training of highly qualified personnel to work on these industryrelevant projects trains the next generation of skilled labourers. Their involvement in conferences and publications further extends research findings to the international academic community.

CCOVI’s 2019-20 research projects are:

• Development of NGS-based multiplex assay for non-regulated grapevine viruses

• Improving cold hardiness and delaying deacclimation using long lasting abscisic acid analogs

• Mitigation of Grapevine Red Blotch virus and climate change through the use of abscisic acid analogs

• Development of a novel method for quantifying Spotted Wing

Drosophila (SWD) in a monitoring program in stone fruit, grapes and berries and determination of impact of SWD on stone fruit and grape varieties

• Mitigation of infestations of multi-coloured Asian lady beetle in

Ontario vineyards

• Grapevine virus diseases and virus vector control

• 100% Ontario wines from Vidal and Marquette: Quality improvements and consumer preferences

• Investigating the impact of sugar and nitrogen on Maillard

Reaction-associated (MR) flavours in sparkling wine

• Redox balance in wine yeast under hyperosmotic stress and the relation to wine quality

• Improving sparkling and still wine quality; preventing high volatile acidity, honey-off flavour and other faults that reduce wine quality through natural Canadian indigenous yeast isolates

• Monitoring bud cold hardiness for the VineAlert program

• Unique cover crops, rootstocks, and irrigation techniques for

Canadian vineyards

• Grapevine evaluation and cold hardiness program to ensure superior plant material for the Canadian Grapevine Certification

Network (CGCN) and to improve the sustainability of the Canadian grape and wine industry

• Detection and characterization of virus and virus-like agents infecting Cannabis

• An integrative research program to improve vine health, fruit/wine quality and sustainability of the Ontario grape and wine industry

PUBLICATIONS

As an industry-driven research institute, CCOVI is committed to ensuring that research is shared both academically and with local, national and international stakeholders. The institute’s work is shared through the publication and dissemination of research through both proactive and reactive media relations.

Research is communicated formally through published books, book chapters and journal articles, as well as through conference proceedings worldwide. As part of CCOVI’s outreach activities, researchers also share their work through participation at industry meetings, webinars, events and media interviews.

During the 2019-20 year, Brock-affiliated CCOVI researchers participated in the publishing of 1 book and 16 academic publications on a wide range of wine-related topics. In addition to the research presented as part of the 2020 CCOVI Lecture Series at Brock University, CCOVI researchers also presented their findings at 52 conference presentations around the world.

In order to further raise the institute’s profile and continue knowledge transfer, CCOVI issued 13 media releases and was featured in 87 print media and broadcast news stories that highlighted the institute’s research and activities.

CCOVI has also continued to utilize social media as a channel of communication and knowledge mobilization for the grape and wine industry and broader community. CCOVI increased the number of followers on its Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts to more than 3,500 people, which accounts for a 25 per cent increase over the past fiscal year.

TRAINING OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL

Highly qualified personnel working in CCOVI play an important role in advancing the progress of the institute’s research work. CCOVI Researchers, Scientists and Fellows lead dynamic teams and lab groups that they mentor, train and develop.

The high calibre of talent in these teams is validated by the external recognition team members have received. In 2019-20, grapevine virus testing research from CCOVI’s Grapevine Virologist received international recognition. The protocol published by CCOVI’s Senior Scientist and his co-authors was recommended to be used in post-entry quarantine purposes as well as virus surveys on grapevines worldwide and was published by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization.

Graduate students also represented the institute at National conferences (including the British Columbia Wine Growers Council (BCWGC) Oenology and Viticulture Conference), International conferences (including the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference) and the GiESCO Congress in Greece.

Publications by the numbers book

1book

File

52 presentations

16 publications

Newspaper

87 news articles

Paperclip

13 media releases

Highly qualified personnel by the numbers

4post-doctoral fellows

5PhD students

15 Masters students

11

Undergraduate students

GRANTS AND FUNDING

In 2019/20, CCOVI’s innovative ideas led to the institute securing funding that will keep it at the forefront of developments in cool climate wine research. Brock researchers associated with CCOVI received $2,230,556 in government and industry support in 2019/20.

Of that total, $1,425,461 came from government directly whereas industry partners contributed $552,847 in cash and $252,248 in inkind funding, further demonstrating industry commitment to supporting the development of research solutions that support the growth and sustainability of their industry.

Over the past five years, the institute has received more than $8.2 million in government and industry support.

AFFILIATED INSTITUTES AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

As an industry-leader in cool climate wine research, CCOVI has research partners both at home and abroad. The institute’s researchers further establish and develop new opportunities through the professional organizations they belong to.

CCOVI leads provincial grape and wine initiatives and works closely with national partners to address Canada’s national priorities. This work takes a coast-to-coast approach, linking research and researchers from Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. As part of this national approach, CCOVI has formal Memorandum of Understandings to work cooperatively with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network (CGCN) to advance Canada’s grape and wine sector. These networks use knowledge and technology transfer of research outputs to help strengthen the $9-billion economic impact of the sector nationally.

CCOVI Researchers, Scientists and Fellows are active members of respected professional networks such as the American Society of Enology and Viticulture, the Academy of Wine Business Research and the American Association of Wine Economists. These networks help researchers raise the profile of both the institute and their work in international academic circles while making and maintaining connections for future research partnerships.

Funding source

Government funding with industry partners Funding directly from Industry partners Government funding without industry partners

Total

Inkind from partners

2019-20 2018-19

$1,307,961

$665,419

$552,847

$117,500

$1,978,308

$252,248

$335,659

$151,500

$1,152,578

$175,658

2017-18 2016-17 2015-16

$2,136,198 $407,102 $491,268

$320,700

$62,870

$2,519,768

$441,561 $432,560

$85,610

$925,272 $251,120

$85,000

$827,388

CCOVI’s profile and strong relationships with stakeholder groups nationwide helped secure Canada’s first-ever bid to host the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium (ICCWS).

Leading researchers, winemakers and grape growers from around the world were set to gather at Brock University from July 12-17, 2020 for the 10th instalment of the symposium. Due to the unprecedented risk to health and safety from the COVID-19 virus that placed Ontario (and much of the world) under a state of emergency in 2020, the decision was made to postpone the conference until July 25 to 29, 2021.

Ensuring the vitality of cool climate winemaking and grape growing in the face of changing climatic conditions will remain the focus of the symposium, and organizers look forward to bringing engaging and innovative programming to an international audience.

Conference delegates will participate in stimulating conference sessions as well as pre and post conference programming that will showcase Canada’s wine regions from coast-to-coast. The full conference program can be viewed at iccws2021.ca/program. CCOVI is collaborating with local and national stakeholders to showcase Canada’s outstanding wine industry to the world. The keynote speaker for the symposium will be Laura Catena, who is a Harvard and Stanford trained physician, author, and the founder and Managing Director of the Catena Institute of Wine in Argentina.

To highlight Canadian cool climate Chardonnay during the conference, 12 Niagara winemakers have used grapes from two specific vineyards to produce their own unique, one-of-a-kind Chardonnays. The Great Chardo Swap involves six winemakers from east of the Welland Canal making wine from grapes grown on the west side of the canal, and six winemakers from the west side making wine from grapes grown on the east. All of the wines will be part of a grand tasting at ICCWS, and attendees will have the chance to discuss the decisions made by the winemakers at each stage of the process.

Learn more at ICCWS2021.ca